Reading Recommendations

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Now that the holiday season is fast approaching, you've no doubt been bombarded by Christmas carols, seen countless holiday lights and Christmas trees and menorahs, felt the chilly winter air and the wonderful Hannukah gifts you've received, slurped down a tasty peppermint mocha, and smelled the fresh happiness in the air. That gets all 5 of your senses in the holiday spirit, but what about your arguably most important 6th sense? Your... BOOK SENSE?

Here are a few books that will keep you warm this holiday season and give you an excuse to not talk to your weird uncle at Christmas:

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited and with a story by Stephanie PerkinsHolidays on Ice by David Sedaris (not strictly a teen book but VERY entertaining nonetheless)Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David LevithanLet it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren MyracleThe Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen ChboskyEx-mas by Kate BrianDecked with Holly by Marni BatesWinter's Kiss: Two Romantic Comedies to Cozy Up to by Jennifer Echols and Catherine HapkaWinter Town by Stephen EmondThe Theory of Everything by J.J. JohnsonTruce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim MurphyThe Rifle by Gary PaulsenDream Soul by Laurence Yep

I really tried to find some Hannukah themed YA books but came up tragically empty-handed. Any Jewish writers out there?

Do you like Oscar-nominated documentaries? Do you like true stories? Do you like talking about race in America? Do you like Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.? And most of all, do you like Samuel L Jackson's voice?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, come watch I Am Not Your Negro, an "Oscar-nominated documentary is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.”